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Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth (Paperback)

Staff Reviews

The short answer is yes, Jesus existed. Ehrman wrote this book in part to counter the arguments of the self-proclaimed "mythicists," a tiny but loud (and rather pathetic) posse of pseudoscholars who continue to maintain, in the face of impressive evidence to the contrary, that Jesus of Nazareth never existed--or, if he did exist, he was a figure of no great importance or impact in his own time.

But what really makes this book enjoyable to read--one can only derive so much pleasure from seeing Ehrman mop the floor with the mythicists--is the experience of watching a first-class biblical scholar and historian of the ancient world do his thing: Which books of the New Testament, and which sections of those books, are most useful for establishing Jesus's historicity? Which are not so useful? What about Roman and Jewish historians (same two questions)? Assuming that Jesus existed, who was he? (At least, what can today's historians establish with a fair degree of probability--questions like, Was he the son of God? are appropriate for theologians to discuss, but outside the realm of what reasonably objective historians are capable of answering.) What did he believe and stand for? Which quotes, of the many attributed to him in the New Testament, are things that he is likely to have actually said? What is he not so likely to have said? And how do scholars go about making thesedeterminations?

Description

In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts the question, "Did Jesus exist at all?" Ehrman vigorously defends the historical Jesus, identifies the most historically reliable sources for best understanding Jesus' mission and message, and offers a compelling portrait of the person at the heart of the Christian tradition.

Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Bart Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular "mythicist" arguments against the existence of Jesus. Marshaling evidence from within the Bible and the wider historical record of the ancient world, Ehrman tackles the key issues that surround the mythologies associated with Jesus and the early Christian movement.

In Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman establishes the criterion for any genuine historical investigation and provides a robust defense of the methods required to discover the Jesus of history.

Praise For…

“His newest book has turned some of his perennial critics into fans, at least temporarily. In Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman decimates the persistent arguments of those who not only deny the divinity of Jesus but insist that no such man ever even existed.” -Christian Science Monitor